An American who was kidnapped along with her driver in Uganda last week has been recovered unharmed, a spokesman for the Ugandan government said Sunday. The pair were recovered along the border with the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kimberly Sue Endicott, 56, and tour driver Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo were taken hostage at gunpoint while on safari in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park last Tuesday. Their four kidnappers had demanded a $500,000 ransom and had not backed down from the demand as of Friday, authorities told CBS News last week. The abductors had been using Endicott's phone to negotiate her release and were in contact with authorities nearly everyday, officials said.
The Uganda Police Force said the pair were rescued during a joint operation and are in "good health." A spokesman for the Ugandan government said Ugandan security forces were involved in the operation. The two were brought back to the lodge where she had been staying, while the kidnappers managed to escape.
Kimberly Endicott with a Ugandan commando shortly after she and her driver were rescued April 7, 2019.
Obtained by CBS News
Wild Frontiers Uganda, which operates the lodge in the park where Endicott was staying, released photos of Endicott and Remezo meeting with Paul Goldring, the company's managing director.
Kimberly Endicott shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019.
Wild Frontiers
Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019.
Wild Frontiers
The kidnapping spurred a massive search effort along the edge of the park, which borders the DRC. The park is one of 10 national parks in Uganda, where tourism remains a major driver of the economy. Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to the parks each year.
Endicott, an esthetician, runs a skin care clinic in Costa Mesa, California.
Officials at Kruger National Park in South Africa said a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and his remains eaten by lions. Pictured here, an elephant in the park in 2016.
Kevin Anderson/AP
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Kevin Anderson/AP
A suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and his remains likely eaten by a pride of lions, park officials in South Africa said.
Kruger National Park rangers received a call last week from the family of the suspected poacher, the park said in a statement issued Friday. According to the family, accomplices of their relative said he was killed by an elephant on Tuesday, while they were in the park to poach rhino.
The elephant attacked "suddenly," Police Brig. Leonard Hlathi told South African newspaper Times Live. Hlathi said the man's accomplices claimed to have carried his body to a road before leaving the park.
Rangers began search efforts to find the man's remains and bring the family closure but could not locate a body.
"Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants," the statement reads. The remains were found in the Crocodile Bridge section of the park.
Observers were quick to point out the apparent irony. "It's the Circle of life," one commentatorquipped on Twitter.
Glenn Phillips, managing executive of the park, issued his condolences to the deceased's family. "Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," Phillips said in the statement.
Police are investigating the incident, and the other four suspected poachers have been arrested and will appear in court, according to the statement.
It's not the first time animals have killed a suspected poacher in South Africa. Last year, one was attacked and eaten by a pride of lions in the Limpopo province, police said.
The number of rhinos poached in South Africa has trended down since 2014, but demand for the animal's horn, nonetheless, remains strong, Reuters reports. More than 500 rhinos were poached for their horns in the first eight months of last year.
Kruger National Park, South Africa's largest game reserve, covers thousands of square miles along the country's northeastern border. As of late last year, the park had some 5,000 rhinos, down from around 9,000 in 2014, according to government estimates cited by Reuters. Poaching and drought have both contributed to the decrease.
Last year, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa called rhino poaching "a national priority crime." In a statement, she said that more than 500 alleged poachers and traffickers were arrested in 2017, with the majority of arrests taking place inside or around Kruger National Park.
"Both were rescued from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are safely back in Kanungu district in Uganda," said Ofwono Opondo. "They are back at the lodge and she is expected to be in Kampala tomorrow."
Opondo said the kidnappers fled the scene of the rescue when law enforcement officers and soldiers moved in.
Ugandan police had said Thursday that an armed gang kidnapped Endicott and her driver at gunpoint from the national park and had made frequent demands for a $500,000 ransom. Police had said they would not offer the money.
A ransom was paid by touring company Wild Frontiers to free Endicott and her tour guide, a source with knowledge of the exchange told CNN on Sunday. The handover was "quiet and peaceful," the source said.
A spokesperson with Wild Frontiers Uganda, the company Endicott toured with, said neither Endicott nor her tour guide were harmed. The spokesperson said the identities of the alleged kidnappers have not been revealed.
The two were abducted at gunpoint while on a game drive on Tuesday evening, the Ugandan Tourism Board and Ugandan police said in a statement.
Four other people were taken at the same time, but they were freed while Endicott and her driver were taken from the park, officials said.
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday evening saying he was "pleased to report" the two have been released.
"God bless them and their families," Trump said on Twitter.
CNN's Hilary McGann, Samson Ntale and Bukola Adebayo, Robyn Kriel and Anna Cardovilis contributed to this report.
"Both were rescued from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are safely back in Kanungu district in Uganda," said Ofwono Opondo. "They are back at the lodge and she is expected to be in Kampala tomorrow."
Opondo said the kidnappers fled the scene of the rescue when law enforcement officers and soldiers moved in.
Ugandan police had said Thursday that an armed gang kidnapped Endicott and her driver at gunpoint from the national park and had made frequent demands for a $500,000 ransom. Police had said they would not offer the money.
A ransom was paid by touring company Wild Frontiers to free Endicott and her tour guide, a source with knowledge of the exchange told CNN on Sunday. The handover was "quiet and peaceful," the source said.
A spokesperson with Wild Frontiers Uganda, the company Endicott toured with, said neither Endicott nor her tour guide were harmed. The spokesperson said the identities of the alleged kidnappers have not been revealed.
The two were abducted at gunpoint while on a game drive on Tuesday evening, the Ugandan Tourism Board and Ugandan police said in a statement.
Four other people were taken at the same time, but they were freed while Endicott and her driver were taken from the park, officials said.
CNN's Hilary McGann, Samson Ntale and Bukola Adebayo, Robyn Kriel and Anna Cardovilis contributed to this report.
An American woman and her safari guide who were kidnapped in a Ugandan wilderness park and held five days by armed captors were returned unharmed on Sunday after a ransom was paid for their release, authorities said.
Kim Sue Endicott of Southern California and her tour guide, Congolese national Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, were freed in a negotiated handover, officials said.
The kidnappers who abducted them at gunpoint in Queen Elizabeth National Park had demanded a $500,000 ransom, but it was not immediately known how much was paid to secure their release or who paid it.
Endicott and Remezo were taken back to a lodge at the park, a spokesman for the Wild Frontiers Uganda safari operation told ABC News.
(Uganda Wildlife Authority) The Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
"Security services have this evening managed to rescue kidnapped citizen Kimberly Sue Endicott and her driver Jean Paul Mirenge [Remezo]," the government of Uganda tweeted.
The tweet expressed appreciation to the Ugandan police and sister security agencies "that led the operation to return Sue and Jean Paul."
In a statement, the Ugandan government said Endicott and Remezo were "recovered unharmed, in good health" and were in the "safe hands of the joint security team."
Security services have this evening managed to rescue kidnapped U.S. citizen Kimberly Sue Endicott and her driver Jean Paul Mirenge. Appreciation goes to @PoliceUg and sister security agencies that led the operation to return Sue and Jean Paul.
News of the kidnapped victims' release came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation got involved in the search and a relative of Edincott asked for more help for the U.S. government in finding Endicott, the owner of a Costa Mesa skincare shop.
Details of how Endicott and Remezo were saved were not immediately available.
“The family has done what’s been asked of them to do. I think it’s the government’s time to help us,” Kim Endicott's cousin, Rich Endicott, a 62-year-old banker from Phoenix, Arizona, told the Associated Press.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed empathy for the Endicott family last week but said the U.S. has a long tradition of not paying a ransom to secure the release of U.S. citizens.
“Please remember that any payment to a terrorist or a terrorist regime gives money so that they can seize more of our people,” Pompeo said after meeting privately with relatives of other U.S. citizens being held captive aboard. “Even a small payment to a group in, say, Africa can facilitate the killing or seizure of tens or even hundreds of others, including Americans or foreign nationals in that region.”
(Uganda Wildlife Authority) The Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Keith Endicott implored the U.S. government to save his cousin's life.
“I heard our Secretary of State get on there and say we don’t pay ransom. OK, fine,” Keith Endicott said. “Then get the Navy SEALS, get them on a plane and go save her. Don’t pay ransom, I’m good with that. But he didn’t say any of those things, and maybe they’re doing those things, but who knows.”
On Sunday, there were signs that the search for Endicott and Remezo had intensified in the western region of the 764-square-mile wildlife park bordering the Congo.
'I heard our secretary of state get on there and say we don't pay ransom. OK, fine. Then get the Navy SEALS, get them on a plane and go save her.'
An ABC News crew at the park saw Ugandan military aircraft and at least six military helicopters land at a nearby airport, and soldiers in military vehicles speeding in and out of a park entrance.
"We are prepared for it and I think we will be able to resolve it," Abbas Byakagaba, assistant inspector general of the Ugandan Police, told ABC News, before the release of the abducted victims was announced.
Ephraiam Kamuntu, the Ugandan minister of tourism, went to the park this weekend hoping to reassure the families of Endicott and Remezo that the Uganda government was doing everything it could to find their loved ones.
"If I had lost hope, I wouldn't be here," Kamuntu told ABC News before Endicott and Remezo were found. "My hope and my firm belief, my desire and my effort is to restore these people both safe and sound."
Endicott and Remezo were out on an evening safari expedition with a Canadian couple, Martin and Barbel Jurrius, both 78, when they were accosted on Tuesday between 6 and 7 p.m. by four gunmen, according to a Ugandan police statement.
"The unknown gunmen put the tourists on gunpoint, and grabbed two out of the four tourists, before disappearing with them," the statement reads.
Once released, Martin and Barbel Jurrius were able to get in contact with a camp manager, who found them safe, police said.
The kidnappers used Endicott's cell phone to contact authorities and demand a $500,000 random.
"We strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind the kidnap," the police statement read.
Police said the tourists were in a World Frontiers Safaris Uganda vehicle that was also taken by the kidnappers and found abandoned in the park with the keys missing.
Endicott -- whom Ugandan authorities have identified as 35 years old, but whose cousin says is in her late 50s -- had gone to Uganda for a safari vacation.
“I know she was planning this trip for a while, because it’s something that she’s always wanted to do,” Pam Lopez, a friend of Endicott, told the Los Angeles Times. “This was always a big trip she wanted to take.”
A Uganda Wildlife Authority spokesperson, Bashir Hangi, told ABC News that the kidnapping was unprecedented.
"This is a one-off incident, it’s an isolated incident. It is not something that happens regularly. It is not something that we are known for," Hangi said. "It’s very unfortunate, it is regrettable but it happened."
"Our parks are very safe right now. Tourists are in the parks as I speak. Tourist activities are going on despite the incident. Because we have security in our parks, we maintain national parks and they are all very safe. That’s why you have not had such an incident before, and now that it has happened it has also opened our eyes to do some soul searching and see how can we best improve on the security of our people," he said.
The last similar incident involving tourists was in 1999, and involved rebels from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hangi said, adding that about 1.4 million tourists now visit Uganda each year.
A U.S. official familiar with the details of U.S. hostage recovery efforts in Uganda told ABC News that Ugandan police have a good handle on the situation, with U.S. officials only providing support at this point.
ABC News' Jim Vojtech, James Meek and Soo Youn contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday that he would extend Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank if re-elected.
Israelis head to the polls on Tuesday and in the final stretch of the tight race, Netanyahu is competing for votes with right-wing parties who support annexing part of the West Bank.
Appearing on Israel’s Channel 12 news Saturday, just three days before Israelis vote on whether Netanyahu would get a fifth term, the prime minister said he was contemplating moves that would put a stop to decades of Israel’s policy recognizing that the lands it seized in the 1967 war would be part of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. What happens to the land is one of the most contentious issues between Israelis and Palestinians, who argue that the presence of settlements would make a future independent state impossible.
On Saturday, Netanyahu pledged that he would not dismantle a single Jewish settlement and that Israel would retain control of the territory west of the Jordan River, known as the West Bank. More than 600,000 Israelis currently live on the war-won lands, the majority live in the West Bank.
Netanyahu has promoted Jewish settlement expansion in his four terms as prime minister, but until now, withheld from presenting a detailed vision for the West Bank.
When Netanyahu was asked why he didn’t annex some of the larger settlements during his current term he answered, “The question you are asking is an interesting question, whether we will move to the next stage and the answer is yes.”
Netanyahu added that the next term in office would be “fateful,” according to The Times of Israel.
“We will move to the next stage, the imposing of Israeli sovereignty,” said Netanyahu.
“I will impose sovereignty, but I will not distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements,” he said during Saturday’s interview. “From my perspective, any point of settlement is Israeli, and we have responsibility, as the Israeli government. I will not uproot anyone, and I will not transfer sovereignty to the Palestinians.”
During the interview, Netanyahu depicted the U.S. policy shifts on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as his achievements, saying that he had managed to persuade President Trump to take these steps.
Most of the international community have long favored a so-called two-state solution. However, U.S. mediation between Israelis and Palestinians stalled after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital early in his term. As a result, the Palestinians, who seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, stopped contact with the U.S.
Last month, Trump also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, an area Israel captured from Syria in 1967.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment on Netanyahu's statement.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s pledge Saturday came a day after he said on Israel’s Channel 13 news that he told President Trump that he would not evacuate “a single person” from any of the settlements. The news comes amid reports that Netanyahu thinks Trump will back him on settlement annexation if the Palestinians reject the much-anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
In response to Netanyahu’s statements, David Ha’ivri, a Jewish resident of Samaria, which is in the West Bank, told Fox News, “In my opinion, these statements were long overdue. Israel liberated these areas from Jordan 52 years ago in the 1967 Six Day War. Since then the residents of this region have lived in a state of political limbo, not knowing what the near future will bring and under which flag we would live.”
In a statement, Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian negotiator, said, “Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump administration’s support and endorsement of Israel’s violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine.”
In its final days, Israel’s prime minister race appears too close to call, as Netanyahu faces a strong challenge from a popular former army chief, Benny Gantz.
The incident happened after the man entered the park Monday with four others to target rhinos, according to a parks service statement.
An elephant "suddenly" attacked the alleged poacher, killing him, and "his accomplices claimed to have carried his body to the road so that passersby could find it in the morning. They then vanished from the Park," police said.
His family were notified of his death late Tuesday by his fellow poachers, and a search party set out to recover the body. Rangers scoured on foot and police flew over the area, but because of failing light it could not be found.
The search resumed Thursday morning and, with the help of added field rangers, police discovered what was left of his body.
"Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants," the statement said.
Glenn Phillips, the managing executive of Kruger National Park, extended his condolences to the man's family.
"Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that," he warned. "It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains."
Three individuals who joined the illegal hunt were arrested Wednesday by the South African Police Service, and officers continue to investigate what happened.
The suspects appeared in Komatipoort Magistrate Court on Friday to face charges of possessing firearms and ammunition without a license, conspiracy to poach and trespassing. A judge remanded them to custody and they will be back in court this week, pending a formal bail application.
The African rhino is targeted for its horn because of the belief among some who practice Eastern medicine that the horn has benefits as an aphrodisiac, making it more valuable than cocaine in parts of the world.
Of special concern is the black rhino, which is considered critically endangered after its population tumbled from about 65,000 to 1970 to 2,400 in 1995, according to Kruger National Park. Conservation efforts have boosted their numbers, and the world's remaining 5,000 or so black rhinos live predominantly in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
In 2016, there were between 349 and 465 black rhinos living at Kruger and between 6,600 and 7,800 white rhinos, who also suffer from poaching, South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs said.
Kruger is considered an intensive protection zone, and the government employs a range of resources to deter poaching, including aircraft, dogs, special rangers and an environmental crime investigation unit.
Of the 680 poaching and trafficking arrests made in 2016 by the South African Police Service, 417 were in and around Kruger, the department said. In September, the department announced that six men -- including two syndicate leaders, two police officers and a former police officer -- had been arrested for trafficking in rhino horns.
